A BIG furniture chain with 70 stores will abruptly close at one site tomorrow.
Oak Furnitureland is closing its showroom at Central Six Retail Park in Coventry for good on Friday, December 1.
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The firm says that it has been given notice by the landlord and is looking at new sites to move into in the city, according to Coventry Live.
A spokesperson for Oak Furnitureland said: “We can confirm that our Coventry showroom will close on Friday, December 1 2023, following the landlord of the site serving us notice.
“We are considering options for an alternative location in Coventry.
“Our priority now is to talk to the colleagues impacted about what this news means for them.”
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A planning application for new signs was submitted to the local authority last week.
The new signs have Salvation Army branding hinting that the charity is looking to set up in the venue once Oak Furnitureland has vacated.
Commenting on the news on the closure one shopper said on Facebook: “I’m not shocked really, I tried to order a small coffee table and was told I had to wait four months for delivery and pay £60 delivery charge!”
Another said: “A charity shop? Really…”
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“What a load of rubbish! Keep on ruining another shopping centre.
“The council needs to have more control,” said a third shopper.
The homeware giant last revealed plans to shut 27 shops back in July 2020 after collapsing into administration.
Davidson Kempner Capital Management bought out the furniture retailer via a pre-pack administration deal following a sale process undertaken by Deloitte.
At the time, it was confirmed a review of its store structure would take place.
It had 105 showrooms across the UK and it employed 1,491 people at the time.
Its store count has since shrunk to 70 units.
Why are retailers closing branches?
The cost of living crisis, stubbornly high inflation and energy costs are taking their toll on retailers.
Shoppers have been cutting back spending, while the cost of actually running a store has also increased, meaning some outlets have struggled to keep going.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) this summer found the UK had lost 6,000 stores over a five-year period.
Several major brands have also collapsed and closed stores for good.
Wilko‘s fall in August marked the biggest British retail collapse since McColl’s plunged into administration in May last year.
Paperchase collapsed into administration at the end of January this year and all 106 stores closed for good.
Scottish clothing brand M&Co and wellies retailer Joules were among a host of other familiar brands that went bust in 2022.
But shoppers still have reason to be cheerful as other retailers are actually expanding this year.
The Sun recently revealed discount retailer Costco is expanding in the UK and is planning to open 14 more warehouses over the next two years.
Bonmarche is opening at least seven new stores after filing for administration in 2019, while The White Company is due to open new stores in October and November.
Once-huge bakery chain Patisserie Valerie, which also collapsed into administration and closed most of its stores, has started reopening branches, as revealed by the Sun.
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Wilko shops are also set to return to the UK high street after the chain collapsed earlier this year.
We also recently revealed bakeries Wenzels, Greggs, Dunkin’ Donuts and The Cornish Bakery are all in the process of expanding in the UK.
